


red ribbon, red string

by adhdsoras



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Character Study, F/F, Hurt No Comfort, I'm sorry for choosing violence, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:01:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29296314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adhdsoras/pseuds/adhdsoras
Summary: Penny's been hacked, and Ruby has to make a choice.
Relationships: Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	red ribbon, red string

Penny’s eyes were red. A bright, glowing red - not the deep shade of blood or the of the same scarlet of a rose. It was the red of fires that had burned hot for too long, with its same effervescent glow. Fear struck in Ruby’s chest, causing her to choke on the air, her lungs refusing to accept the incoming wave of oxygen. Penny stood up straight, her movements jagged and structured - her was back was too straight, her body turning into a perfect line, her arms neat and stiff at her sides. 

Those unblinking red eyes. 

Ruby stumbled backward on her hands and knees, hyperventilating, her mind racing as with one stiff, swift movement Penny had knocked Weiss to the floor, her head slamming against the ground, the impact echoing across the silent foyer of the manor. Blake screamed, racing to Weiss’ side, and Ruby continued to stumble silently, barely processing the noise, the danger. Her heart was beating out of her chest, her fear rising to the surface.

It was happening all over again, and yet it was all happening for the first time. Loss in a different form, the destruction that would follow. She felt her throat dry as Penny stared down at her.

Could she take Penny in a fight? The better question was whether or not she would even try.

A sensation overtook Ruby as she forced herself to look her in the eyes - red meeting silver, and something inside her tore. Exhaustion encapsulated her body, and everything else in the world melted away. All that was left was her aching bones and her sorrowful heart. She couldn’t fight Penny. She couldn’t win, she couldn’t hurt her - she didn’t know how to fix this. Any ounce of energy and hope faded and she felt hollow, empty. These would be her last moments, she knew deep down that there was no coming back from this. She shut her eyes, remembering those myths of the underworld, where they sailed your body down a river and put money on your eyes, and provided your judgment. How would she be judged? She didn’t have the answer, didn’t question her fate. She just kept her eyes shut and waited for the blade to connect, to feel the cool sting of metal slide through her cut or plainly pierce her heart. 

It was over.

_ It was finally over. _

Ruby did all that she could to help people.

She hoped that Yang would be able to press on, to make something out of this mess. That’s what she always did - she followed her heart and made the world a little bit better. Guilt settled in her chest that she would be leaving her, that it would all be over. They never got to come back together, to talk things through. Yang had done so much for her, practically raised her, and Ruby felt like she did so little in return.

She hoped that Blake wouldn’t see her differently - that she still hoped that a girl like her could make it in this world and change it. In any other lifetime, Ruby felt like she could, but defeat weighed heavy on her chest, making it impossible to her to move, to continue fighting. 

Weiss would be devastated, she knew it. They had come so far, hadn’t they? To think that there was a time where they hated each other felt so foreign like it was in another life completely. She was sorry to know that she would be the one to tear her new family apart, but she would move on one day, and everything would be alright.

There was still hope - not hope for herself, but hope in humanity, in its fight to become better.

Jaune, Ren, and Nora had been through so much, but she knew they would be fine. They always ended up being okay. She hoped Nora woke up soon, that Jaune and Ren were rushing up the manor steps as Ruby contemplated life and everything that had gone right, rather than what had gone wrong. All her false optimism, her compensation, she couldn’t give that up, not even in these final moments. 

Qrow had her worried the most. He was getting better, he was happier. She was afraid her death would set him back, that his hands would reach for a flask in an attempt to find normalcy.

Her dad… She didn’t want to think of it. He loved her so much, he knew how worried he must have been. He’d lost so much to Salem already. Just another thing to cause him to crack. How would he go on, knowing that Yang would continue to fight? That in the end, he could end up all alone, with no one left to love him. He would never move on - he had done that once before, and it landed him with pain and suffering.

_ I’m sorry.  _

Metal struck her through her chest, and her eyes flashed open, looking up at Penny, into those red, burning eyes. Ruby thought of how they glowed, at this moment, with Penny’s blade sticking out of her chest and some deep, twisted part of her thought she looked pretty. She wished that instead of soft pink, the ribbon of her bow was a deep crimson, that Penny would look at it and think of her. Her chest hitched, air forcing itself down her throat and tears pricked behind her eyes. Ruby smiled, thinking of all the things she never said, that she was never brave enough to do.

“I love you, Penny.”

The blade pulled out of her chest and Ruby watched as Penny’s face twisted, her eyes turning green, fighting for control over her body. She could finally hear Blake’s screams as they met with Penny’s, their voices causing a crescendo as they pounded and vibrated against the pristine white walls. Ruby turned the marble floors red, and tears slipped down her cheeks as she struggled to breathe in and out. 

Warmth spread over her cheeks as Penny dropped to her side, cupping her cheek, holding her close. Ruby saw her mouth move, she heard her speak, but everything fell upon deaf ears. She couldn’t stop looking in her eyes. If she could cry, would she? Would tears spring from her eyes and fall down her cheeks? Yes, they would. Ruby knew that Penny would sob and breakdown if she could, and that was all that mattered.

Ruby brought a shaky hand to her Penny’s neck, caught up in her emerald green eyes.

She wanted them to be the last thing she ever saw.

Her hand fell from the side of Penny’s neck, and she gasped for breath one final time.

It was over.

_ It was finally over. _


End file.
